Sports
T20 getting to be similar to a chess game

Cricket’s T20 format was an attempt to liven up the game and make it viewer friendly. This has proven to be a success and a lifeline for the game of cricket. Every match around the world is filled with loud, active and boisterous spectators bursting with enthusiastic energy. It reminds one of the Colosseum, where gladiators fought for their life and prestige during the days of the Roman Empire.
T20 cricket evokes a very similar attachment and emotion among the crowd, however, without the actual blood-thirsty response of yore.
The early days of T20 cricket was looked upon as a slam-bang version, wherein, thoughtless cross-bat heaves and stroke-play was the norm to follow. Yuvraj Singh, hitting 6 sixes off a Stuart Broad over, in the first ever T20 World Cup was the epitome of every batter’s desire. India, winning the Cup in 2007 was just the tonic that the doctor ordered to get the Indian fans activated.
The Indian Premier league (IPL) in 2008 had sceptics who felt that cricket was being sacrificed for commercial gains and that the sport will lose its character and the values that it stands for. The gentleman’s game that revelled in artistic stroke-play, would breed swatters who would do well killing flies. A brilliant 158 runs by Brendon McCullum from New Zealand off just 73 balls for Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural match of the IPL in 2008 was an eye opener. He played correct, conventional and courageous cricket shots, that not only made one admire his innings but it also became the precursor for others to follow. It gave just the boost required not only to the T20 format but also to the most lucrative cricket league in the world, the IPL.
Chris Gayle, the powerful and strong West Indian cricket star with his lusty hits, became the superstar of the IPL and one every batter wanted to emulate. Cricket changed from being a game of a number of runs scored to strike-rates, indicating the number of balls faced to get them.
Cricket, therefore, came alive with batters ready to strike and attack. The fast pace of the game forced cricketers to get more agile, fit and thereby look like well-sculptured athletes. The cameras at all corners of the field highlighted every move they made and the slow motion replays became a luxury to enjoy. A cricket match developed into a mystery story of an uncertain ending, as well as giving rise to heroes and villains as it progressed — an entertainment for the family to partake in.
The slam-bang approach of the initial T20 theory gradually gave way to a more planned and strategy-driven concept. Players, matches and conditions were being analysed to the ultimate degree by IT professionals and teams of skilled support staff, utilising the data and findings extensively for their use.
T20 cricket has gradually changed by leaps and bounds. It has become a chess match between two teams, each making moves and thinking steps ahead. Yuzvendra Chahal, the wily leg-spinner and a reputed chess player himself, in a recent interview, stated as to how he studies the batsman to outthink him. Interestingly, the game has become a mental battle between the batter and the bowler. Each one is trying to read the other to outsmart one another.
The batsman has a hint of what the bowler has in mind by the field placement put in place. However, many bowlers have outfoxed the batsman by playing a dummy move. A batter still has an advantage with bowlers having a width restriction as well as a restriction of fielders outside the 30-yard circle. The bowlers have also innovated in a major way. The variety of deliveries that many have now skilled themselves to bowl are quite remarkable and innovative.
Cricket has never had such a transformation like what it is going through in the last decade. Innovative and unimaginable strokes by the batters and varieties of variable deliveries being churned out by bowlers, has made cricket into a very different game from that in the past.
The chess board comes so much into prominence in the present T20 world of cricket. Many pawns are sacrificed and rooks, bishops and knights moved to strategise a victory. A Queen is an all-rounder who could, through batting or bowling, change the complexion of the game. The King is the citadel that every franchise team is protecting, through planned strategies and thoughtful moves to avoid a checkmate.
Cricket finally has become a game of brain as well as brawn — one that requires a cricketer to think correctly and to implement forcefully. The T20 format has totally revolutionised cricket for years to come.
One feels Test cricket will never be the same again. The modern cricketers are products of the fast changing digital world, wherein speed is important for progress. The laggards will be left behind.
Chess too has a ‘Rapid’ version to it. T10 cricket could be the next one to follow. One wonders what new innovation will come forth then.
Business
Centre approves reopening of 32 airports as tensions ease on India-Pakistan border

New Delhi, May 12: The Centre on Monday issued the NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) to reopen the 32 airports that had been shut down since May 9 due to the cross-border drone and missile attacks following heightened tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam massacre of 26 tourists by Islamabad-backed terrorists.
The airports that will gradually reopen include Chandigarh, Srinagar, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bhuntar, Kishangarh, Patiala, Shimla, Kangra-Gaggal, Bathinda, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Halwara, Pathankot, Jammu, Leh, Mundra, Jamnagar, Hirasar, Porbandar, Keshod, Kandla and Bhuj.
The airports will be opened gradually as, although the ceasefire announced following the Pakistan DGMO’s (Director General of Military Operations) request is largely holding, the government does not want to take any chances.
“The night remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir and other areas along the International Border. No incidents have been reported, marking the first calm night in recent days,” according to a statement issued by the Indian Army on Monday.
The opening of these airports which are close to the Pakistan border reflects a de-escalation in the cross-border hostilities which saw India successfully launching ‘Operation Sindoor’ to avenge the Pahalgam killings.
The reopening of these airports will help to restore normalcy in flight operations which have undergone widespread disruption due to the conflict.
Meanwhile, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said on Monday that operations at the airport are “currently smooth,” however, due to changing airspace conditions and increased security measures, some flight schedules and security checkpoint processing times may be affected.
The airport management has advised passengers to follow updates and instructions from their airlines, allow extra time for security checks due to heightened measures and adhere to hand baggage and check-in luggage regulations.
Passengers have been advised to check the latest flight status through their airline or the official Delhi Airport website.
Although an agreement for a ceasefire was reached on Saturday, the government is not taking any chances on the security front.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting on Sunday with the three service chiefs and the Chief of Defence Staff to take stock of the latest situation.
Sports
PCB postpones men’s domestic tournaments with immediate effect amid India-Pak tensions

Lahore, May 10: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday announced the immediate postponement of all men’s domestic tournaments in the country owing to escalating cross-border tensions with India.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board confirms that the ongoing President’s Trophy Grade-II, Regional Intra-District Challenge Cup, Inter-District U19 One-Day tournament have been postponed with immediate effect due to prevailing security condition in the country.”
“The tournaments will resume from the same stage later and a revised schedule will be shared closer to the resumption,” said the PCB in its official statement on Saturday.
Previously on Friday, after the BCCI paused IPL 2025 for a week due to growing tensions between the two nations on the border areas, the PCB had announced it has postponed the ongoing edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for an indefinite period, citing the advice given by Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
The tournament’s postponement news came hours after PCB claimed it was going to host the remaining eight matches of the tournament in the UAE, though the organisation didn’t specify the dates or venues of those rescheduled matches.
PSL’s future had come under great uncertainty after a drone had crashed at a food street near the Rawalpindi International Cricket Stadium, which resulted in Thursday’s match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings being postponed indefinitely.
Two weeks after 26 people were gunned down by terrorists in Pahalgam – a popular tourist destination in Jammu & Kashmir, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ to target terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.
Pakistan continued its aerial attacks, comprising drones and missiles, on Indian border cities as well as across other military stations in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat on Friday. But all of them were successfully foiled by India’s defence systems.
Sports
IPL 2025 suspended indefinitely, BCCI cites national interest

New Delhi, May 9: Amid the escalating military conflict between India and Pakistan, the BCCI has decided to suspend the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season indefinitely in an emergency meeting on Friday, sources told Media.
After Thursday’s IPL 2025 match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals was called off after 10.1 overs of play at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala following the air and drone strikes from Pakistan which resulted in blackouts in Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur, all of which are in close proximity to Dharamshala, the future of the tournament looked uncertain and BCCI convened emergency meeting to decide the way forward.
“IPL to be suspended, BCCI will issue detailed information anytime soon, the BCCI sources told Media on Friday. “Yes, the meeting just got over. After discussing with all the concerned authorities, this decision was made. Further details will be shared by the BCCI, ” it added.
“BCCI wants to stand with the nation at this time and thus suspends IPL 2025 with immediate effect. It’s indefinite at the moment (on a window to resume IPL 2025 in future). It will only happen if there will be time later in the year. But for now nothing,” said IPL sources to Media.
Following the abandonment of the Dharamshala match, several Australian players involved in the league reportedly expressed anxiety over their safety.
A special train has been arranged to evacuate both Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals players and support staff members, match officials, commentators, broadcast crew members and other key personnel associated with IPL 2025 to get them to a safe place.
After India launched precision strikes targeting nine high-value terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (Pok), in response to the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives, Pakistan attempted to engage in number of military targets in Northern and Western India on May 7-8.
India on Thursday morning targeted the Air Defence Radars and systems at several locations in Pakistan, during which the one at Lahore has been neutralised.
Later, Pakistan launched aerial attacks on Jammu as well as several military stations near the western border, but those were successfully foiled by India’s air defence systems.
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